All references are to the 2011 reprint of the 1998 orbit paperback edition of 2001. Meanwhile, the ending to nolans dark knight trilogy isnt as vague as inception. I always found this a pretty disappointing end to the film because it seemed to make no sense. Just watched it again, first time i was very young and dont really remember anything other than the pretty pictures and the apes. After seeing space odyssey, i read arthur clarkes book. A space odyssey began as an idea by director stanley kubrick 19281999 to create the proverbial good science fiction movie. A giant monolith appeared on earth one day and began to experiment with many of them, probing and developing their minds. Kubricks movie, 2001, a space odyssey, finally debuted, late and over budget in april 1968, to baffled film critics and long lines of young people.
The director of the film, stanley kubrick, and the writer, arthur c. Among those in whom the monolith took an interest was moonwatcher, the only manape who walked fully upright. The two soon met at trader vics in new york and started hashing out a story that became 2001. One of cinemas best current directors, christopher nolan, is supervising a restoration of a classic film by one of the alltime greats stanley kubrick. One of its most enduring qualities is how open to interpretation it isover the years, the enigmatic film has. A space probe with a landing and exploration of the moon and mars. A space odyssey remains inviolate, one of the handful of true film masterpieces.
The manapes of the world, who lived by gathering berries and nuts, were facing a lack of food. Its a totally different kind of experience, of course, and there are a number of differences between the book and the movie. Leave it vague, and let the viewer interpret it to fit their own experiences. The one based on the book goes like this the black monolith you saw in the beginning of the film, and the one found buried on the moon, were placed there by a supremely advanced alien race as a way to nudge along the evolution of humanity. Get a full month of mubi, a handpicked selection of cult, classic and award winning films, for free. This may be stanley kubrick himself explaining the end of 2001. All right, now that ive explained the monolith and what its purpose serves i can explain the ending in detail. I am not saying they were wrong, just not how i interpreted it. The novel, for example, attempts to explain things much more explicitly than the film does, which is inevitable in a verbal medium. See more ideas about 2001 a space odyssey, stanley kubrick and sci fi movies. A space odyssey movie features bizarre colours and the main character appearing in a bed, then becoming an old man and finally a fetus. A space odyssey has fascinated audiences for years. What do you think about the cinematography in 2001. A space odyssey ending explained by stanley kubrick.
Clarkes novel 2001 a space odyssey, his short story the sentinel. Bowman, in a second pod, races from the discovery one to retrieve poole, but. In terms of the content, making and technical brilliance, 2001. The monoliths are a race of galatic watchers who work to ensure life forms they. See alexander walkers book stanley kubrick, director p. If you have a question please ask below and i will get back to you as soon as possible. Christopher nolan returns kubrick scifi masterpiece 2001. It makes a parallel between moonwatcher, the evolved human who holds the future in his paws, to david bowman, now a little moon himself circling the earth, who holds the future in his paws. Here is the interpretation i learned in my film class and always thought was the most widely held. The ending is largely symbolic, and reading the book helps with its interpretation. Bowman is granted the gift of the technology that the civilization that built tma1 had come upon. In a more temporal sphere, 2010 qualifies as superior entertainment, a movie more at home with technique than poetry, with character than with mystery, a movie that explains too much and leaves too little to our sense of wonderment, but a. Behind every man now alive stand thirty ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnu. One of the greatestselling science fiction novels of our time, this classic book will grip you to the very end.
In depth analysis of the films deeper meaning kubrick 2001. A space odyssey is undoubtedly way ahead of its time or even our time. Clarke, wanted to leave the film open to philosophical and allegorical interpretation, purposely presenting the final sequences of the film. The same is true, i believe, of stanley kubricks parable 2001. After you have read the story of lazarus in the bible, you dont need anyone to explain it to you. A space odyssey concludes as a visual poem which tells a story about human evolution and steps taken to get there. Clarke and stanley kubrick teamed up on the mindblowing 1968 film 2001. The space exploration programs in the united states and the soviet union were only in the early stages. A space odyssey is rightfully hailed as a milestone in science fiction filmmaking, but even its most ardent fans would have a tough time explaining the final scenes of. Clarke, and was inspired by clarkes short story the sentinel and other short stories by clarke. Clarke 19172008 based on clarkes 1950 short story the sentinel. In an act resembling human desperation, hal rams poole with one of the spaceships eva pods, severing his oxygen hose and sending poole hurtling into outer space without his oxygen. A space odyssey is one of the most enigmatic films ever made, if not the most enigmatic.
A novelisation of the film released after the films premiere was in part written concurrently with the screenplay. In terms of its themes and symbolism, 2001 was con. In a timeless state, his life passes from middle age to senescence to death. A space odyssey and you loved it but you kinda dont. Much like the star child of the film, the origins of this video are a little complicated and weird. A space odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by stanley kubrick. A space odyssey was written, mankind had not yet set foot on the moon. Here, actor keir dullea poses in the equipment storage corridor to one. Thats right, stanley kubrick himself allegedly explains the ending of 2001 in a resurfaced interview thats going viral on the internet. The novel came about after we did a page prose treatment of the film at the very outset.
He developed the screenplay in collaboration with british science fiction author sir arthur c. A space odyssey s ending is famous among strange film endings, and when you consider that the competition includes magnolia, mulholland drive, and rockadoodle, thats sayin something. A space odyssey and its mysterious ending, he did attempt to let viewers know what his intention was. The game that poole has with hal is a reenactment of a game from chernevs best short chess games book.
What on earth did the end of 2001 a space odyssey mean. He is immortalized, turned into energy, and given immense powers to move and impact the physical world simply through an action of his will. The screenplay was written by kubrick and arthur c. As a fan of stanley kubrick and cinema in general, i find that the cinematography of 2001. Hal kills poole by using the eva pod to cut his spacesuit air line while outside of the ship.
What is the meaning behind the opening scene of 2001. Upfront, somewhat of a refinement on some of the other answers. The black monolith you saw in the beginning of the film, and the one found buried on the moon, were placed there by a supremely advanced alien race as a way to nudge along the evolution of humanity. A space odyssey chronicles the creation of the epic scifi movie. The ending of 2001 a space odyssey explained by stanley kubrick august 7, 2012 8 comments this one goes out to all the folks that love 2001 a space odyssey but still dont know what the hell was going on at the end. The meaning of the ending of 2001 according to stanley kubrick.
Hal kills the crew in suspended animation by venting the ship to space. After flying a nuclear bomb out of gotham city, batman escapes the blastoffscreen. A video has surfaced which appears to feature stanley kubrick himself explaining the end of 1968s 2001. The ending of 2001 a space odyssey explained by stanley. Much room was left to imagine the future of the space program. A space odyssey at fifty heres why kubrick and clarkes masterpiece is the most important, influential scifi film ever made james baldock thursday 10 may 2018 12. The original match was played in 1910 between roesch and schlage in hamburg. Nonetheless, in july 2018, kubricks interpretation of the ending scene was presented after being newly found in an early interview. A space odyssey, i came across several interpretations of the cryptic ending that consists of only images with no explanatory dialog, and i agreed with none of them. In a 1969 interview with joseph gelmis, he quickly summed up the entire plot in two paragraphs. Bowman ends up in a room somewhere in one universe or another, and we have no idea where. A space odyssey was a visual effects pioneer 2001 casts an enormous shadow on the last halfcentury of pop culture, let alone the sciencefiction genre.
At the end of 2001, we see dave pass through a bizarre dreamscape of light patterns and totally alien imagery, and then wake up in a weird set of rooms that are bathed in light in all directions, with oddly historical furnishings. Stanley kubrick appears to explain the ending of 2001 in. The movie has polarized critics and audiences for nearly 50 years now and it seems to be the most. So id say chances are he knew exactely what he was doing with the books and 2010 was right on with the book yes 2010 does explain the situation. The book explains things more explicitly, but i read it years ago. A space odyssey stanley kubrick and cast 1968 mgm 2001. Clarke, wanted to leave the film open to philosophical and allegorical interpretation, purposely presenting the final sequences of the film without the underlying thread being apparent. The following content is mainly based off of arthur c. The dawn of man is a testament to the genius of kubrick, and cleverly sets up the films forthcoming narrative, to produce one of the greatest science fiction films ever. Clarkes novel 2001 a space odyssey, his short story the sentinel, and kubricks famous film, 2001.
So the end of the book loops back around to the beginning. Fifty years ago this spring, stanley kubricks confounding scifi masterpiece, 2001. When writing the earlier posting on the movie, 2001. The book ultimately came out a couple months after the movies april. A space odyssey has been analysed and interpreted by numerous people, ranging from professional movie critics to amateur writers and science fiction fans. Bowman survives by escaping to an airlock and donning a spacesuit. A space odyssey is possibly the most famous computer in cinema history and one of the most cryptic fictional characters of all.
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